This invention relates to the cutting of boards and, more particularly, concerns the fabrication of beveled webs for use in truss structures.
The construction of load-supporting walls, floors, and ceilings, etc. of buildings has traditionally involved the formation of wooden truss structures in which relatively long, parallel beams are braced by shorter, diagonally arranged webs. In such an arrangement, the ends of the webs abut surfaces extending at angles other than ninety degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the web. Accordingly, it is required that the ends of the web are beveled to provide a face-to-face contact with the abutting surfaces when the webs are installed.
Usually, the truss structures are pre-fabricated at a fabricating facility. It is necessary to form the webs by suitably dimensioning a wooden board, such as a two-by-four, for example, and then cutting a pair of angularly disposed bevels at each end of the board.
One known technique for accomplishing this involves cutting boards to proper length by a first saw, placing the cut boards onto a chain conveyor, dragging the boards in spaced fashion through a cutting zone in which a pair of rotary saws at opposite ends of the board cut top and buttom bevels at each end. Each pair of saws are horizontally spaced and are inclined relative to one another. The webs formed in this fashion are then manually removed and inserted into a package.
The overall operation is generally time consuming, requires considerable floor space in the facility, and involves the attention of a number of operators.
Moreover, the effort required to adjust the angles of the beveling saws for various bevel configurations can be complicated and cumbersome. This is especially evident in instances where the bevels of a respective end of a board must be cut at different angles.
The saw orientation of previously proposed machines is such that the bevels intersect to form relatively sharp edges at the ends of the web. Often, this can result in the creation of splinters which, if not removed, can obstruct the proper positioning of the web within the truss structure.
It would be desirable, then, to provide compact, highly automated, and easily adjustable equipment for fabricating beveled webs.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to minimize or or alleviate problems of the previously-noted sort.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel web-cutting machine.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel web-cutting machine which is compact, highly automated, and easily adjustable.
It is yet another object of the invention to minimize the man-hours involved in fabricating beveled webs.
It is an additional object of the present invention to minimize the formation of splinters on truss webs.